Danzo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Shimura Danzo (团藏), also rendered Shimura Danzō
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Hidden Leaf; Shimura clan; Root; Konoha’s senior leadership 127 231 244
Occupation/Role	Root commander, village elder, and intelligence official; stripped of his leadership posts in Chapter 219, but described as holding them again in Chapter 244 219 244
Rank	Jōnin; retains this rank after his punishment 219
Status	Alive and continuing covert operations 247
First Appearance	Chapter 8 in the provided material 8

Background / History

Tobirama’s disciple and Hiruzen’s rival

Danzo trained under the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, alongside Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Kagami Uchiha. He believes he deserved to become the Third Hokage and bitterly resents Hiruzen’s appointment 56 204 210 227.

He built Root from an ANBU training program into a substantial covert organization by gradually acquiring authority with Hiruzen’s tacit approval. Their arrangement benefits both men: Hiruzen gains a force for operations he cannot publicly acknowledge, while Danzo expands his own power 228.

Early attempts to control Jin

Danzo proposes transferring Jin Uchiha into Root, but Hiruzen refuses because doing so would destroy Shisui’s trust and weaken the village’s surveillance of the Uchiha. Danzo leaves angrily after being explicitly forbidden to touch Jin 8.

After reports of Jin’s Mangekyō Sharingan awakening, Danzo proposes recruitment, brainwashing, or killing him and taking his eyes. Hiruzen again intervenes, warning that Root’s methods could drive an unattached Mangekyō wielder into defection and leave Konoha vulnerable to repeated surprise attacks 54.

Hiruzen later suspects Danzo of the Hyuga murders and Byakugan theft. Danzo denies involvement, insists he has been framed, and argues that the Sharingan interests him far more than the Byakugan. His request to deal with Jin is rejected once more 65.

The Military Police Force raid

The Police Force’s withdrawal of services over unpaid village funding gives Danzo an opening. Hiruzen authorizes a discreet operation to recover three detained ANBU, and Danzo dispatches at least nine elite Root squads, composed of jōnin, to kill Jin 92.

Jin destroys the attackers with Void, his bodily disintegration technique. At the subsequent confrontation, Jin uses Root’s unofficial status to make public retaliation politically untenable. Hiruzen backs down and silences Danzo’s protest over the losses 94 97.

Danzo then orders Root personnel withdrawn from the front, places the Uchiha under surveillance, and demands Shisui’s assassination. His orders extend to exterminating the entire Uchiha clan, including civilians 101.

He also proposes maneuvering Jin into Kumogakure’s central camp. If Jin survives, Danzo intends to circulate accusations of treason, have him declared a rogue ninja, and mobilize Konoha’s strongest fighters against him. Hiruzen privately agrees that Jin must be eliminated 105.

Root recruitment and the Aburame break

Danzo’s recruitment practices alienate the Aburame clan. Torune, Yūjo, and Kue have been forced into Root, where brainwashing prevents a normal return to clan life. After Yūjo’s death, Danzo demands the clan’s prodigy, Ryoma, prompting Shibi Aburame to seek Uchiha protection 121.

Jin secures Ryoma’s release through the Hokage. In front of witnesses, Hiruzen declares that Root is subordinate to ANBU and has no independent right to conscript or arrest shinobi. Ryoma leaves before receiving Root’s sealing curse mark 132.

Rin’s abduction and punishment

Danzo demands that Rin Nohara and the Three-Tails sealed within her be transferred to Root. He argues that Root can make the best use of the beast and challenges Hiruzen’s fitness to remain Hokage 200.

He later has Rin kidnapped while a Root genjutsu specialist briefly controls Kushina. Kushina breaks free within seconds and attacks, injuring Danzo. Despite the mounting losses, he refuses to release Rin and describes her as a weapon whose sacrifice would serve the village 216.

Kushina, Kakashi, and Obito overwhelm Root’s forces. Minato arrives, rescues Rin with Flying Thunder God, and strikes Danzo with a Rasengan. Danzo retreats; Kakashi and Rin prevent Obito from killing him because he remains a Konoha elder 217.

Following Minato’s demand for accountability, Hiruzen removes Danzo’s elder authority and Root leadership while allowing him to remain a jōnin. Hiruzen privately expects that he can reinstate him later 218 219.

Alliance against Hiruzen

Koharu and Homura approach Danzo because they fear Hiruzen will discard them once the Uchiha and Hyuga are subdued. Danzo agrees to cooperate only after obtaining concrete commitments that implicate both elders in the conspiracy 227 228.

Koharu supplies surveillance of Shinnosuke Sarutobi, Hiruzen’s son and ANBU captain. Homura recruits Arashi Sarutobi, who lures Shinnosuke to Hokage Rock. Danzo leads the ambush, kills Shinnosuke, and has Root conceal the area, remove the body, and erase evidence 228 229.

The conspirators regard Arashi as expendable. Danzo argues that their own protection comes from their clans and military resources, not merely their alliance, whereas Arashi has no independent force capable of shielding him from Hiruzen 230.

When Hiruzen brings Uchiha personnel into ANBU’s leadership, Danzo objects but is forced to yield. His hostility toward Hiruzen subsequently becomes strong enough that he refuses to help suppress the Uchiha’s growing public influence 236 237 239.

The Yagura forgery

The revelation that Yagura was controlled through Sharingan genjutsu gives Danzo another opportunity to pressure the Uchiha. Root gathers intelligence, and Danzo meets Kirigakure envoy Mei Terumi in his capacity as a senior intelligence official 242 244.

Danzo presents findings about unusually stable Mangekyō chakra and insinuates that Jin has motives for manipulating Mei. He then orders fabricated evidence planted in Jin’s residence. Shisui uncovers the operation, while Itachi allows the scroll to be placed before retrieving it for Jin 246.

Hiruzen exposes the forgery to Mei, who recognizes Danzo’s attempted manipulation and warns that it could harm relations between the villages. Danzo nevertheless orders a second dossier mixing truth with lies, then sends Sai to the Land of Rain with news of Konoha and Kirigakure’s cooperation 247.

Appearance

• Bandages: Appears wrapped in bandages from head to toe during Koharu and Homura’s visit to Root headquarters 227.
• Cane: Carries a cane, including when confronting Hiruzen over the Three-Tails 200 227.
• Implanted right eye: Kagami Uchiha’s Mangekyō Sharingan occupies his right eye socket 144.
• Expression: His cold gaze and mocking smile characterize his reception of the two elders 227.

Personality

Danzo combines Hokage ambitions with a conviction that his covert methods are necessary to protect Konoha. He repeatedly invokes the village’s interests to justify assassination, forced recruitment, and sacrificing individual shinobi. His hatred of the Uchiha is especially pronounced, extending from attempts to control their strongest members to orders for collective extermination 51 92 101 216.

Pride and resentment frequently undermine his restraint. He refuses to attend a jōnin meeting that would require conceding to the Uchiha, fearing he might attack Jin rather than endure the humiliation. Yet he remains calculating when securing allies: his pact with Koharu and Homura rests on shared culpability and mutual leverage rather than friendship 105 228.

He treats subordinates and collaborators as disposable assets. Root operatives obey him without individual will, and he dismisses Arashi once the latter has served his purpose. He also understands that Hiruzen uses Root to preserve the Hokage’s public reputation, but believes his usefulness and independent resources protect him from being discarded 228 229 230.

Abilities & Skills

Mangekyō Sharingan and bodily augmentation

Danzo possesses implanted powers rather than Uchiha ancestry 56 144.

• Kagami’s Mangekyō: Its location in Danzo’s right eye is explicitly confirmed by Minato 144.
• Hashirama cells: The narration identifies him as having Hashirama’s cells implanted 56.
• Combat assessment: The narration considers him capable of defeating the Seven Ninja Swordsmen; this is an assessment, not a battle he performs in the supplied events 56.
• Undocumented eye ability: The supplied material does not identify Kagami’s specific Mangekyō technique.

Root command and operational control

Danzo turns Root into a covert force capable of recruitment, surveillance, assassination, and evidence removal 121 228 229.

• Conditioned obedience: Brainwashing and the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal make his commands the operatives’ overriding authority 229.
• Elite deployments: Sends at least nine jōnin squads against the Military Police Force 92.
• Covert containment: Root uses sealing techniques to conceal the Shinnosuke ambush and clears the scene afterward 229.
• Institutional limit: Hiruzen publicly states that Root cannot independently conscript or arrest shinobi 132.

Intelligence and political manipulation

Danzo commands an intelligence network spanning multiple villages and retains influence beyond Root itself 242 245.

• Diplomatic access: His intelligence position gives him a procedurally legitimate reason to meet Mei Terumi 244.
• Manufactured accusations: Plans to brand Jin a traitor and later plants forged testimony and a misleading photograph linking him to Kirigakure rogue ninja 105 247.
• Disinformation: Orders dossiers that blend authentic details with false claims 247.
• Mutual leverage: Requires Koharu and Homura to contribute directly to Shinnosuke’s assassination before accepting their alliance 228.

Equipment / Items

• Cane — Frequently carried during political confrontations and meetings 200 227.
• Kagami Uchiha’s Mangekyō Sharingan — Implanted in his right eye socket 144.
• Hashirama cells — Implanted bodily augmentation identified by the narration 56.
• Forged scroll and dossiers — Tools used to implicate Jin in Yagura’s manipulation and undermine his relationship with Mei 246 247.

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Former fellow disciple, political patron, and rival. Their cooperation depends on Root’s usefulness, but deteriorates into punishment, obstruction, and Danzo’s murder of Hiruzen’s son 92 219 228 229 239.
• Tobirama Senju — Teacher who trained Danzo as one of his disciples 56 227.
• Jin / Yan Uchiha — Principal opponent. Danzo seeks his recruitment, death, or political destruction; Jin eventually regards Danzo as a useful source of damage to the Hokage’s faction 54 105 216 247.
• Shisui Uchiha — Target of an explicit assassination order and later an obstacle to Root through his ANBU position and surveillance work 101 237 246.
• Kagami Uchiha — Former fellow disciple whose Mangekyō Sharingan is implanted in Danzo 144 210.
• Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado — Former fellow disciples and conspiratorial allies; their pact against Hiruzen is secured through shared involvement in Shinnosuke’s murder 227 228.
• Shibi Aburame and Ryoma Aburame — Danzo’s coercive recruitment drives Shibi toward the Uchiha alliance; Ryoma is released from Root by Hiruzen’s order 121 132.
• Minato Namikaze — Opposes Danzo’s seizure of Rin, defeats him, and demands punishment 217 218 219.
• Rin Nohara — Abducted as a means of acquiring the Three-Tails; Danzo treats her as a village weapon rather than a person 200 216.
• Shinnosuke Sarutobi — Assassination victim selected to weaken Hiruzen and bind Danzo’s new allies to him 228 229.
• Arashi Sarutobi — Accomplice who lures Shinnosuke into the ambush; considered an expendable pawn afterward 228 230.
• Mei Terumi — Intended target of diplomatic manipulation; recognizes his scheme after Hiruzen exposes the forged evidence 246 247.
• Sai — Subordinate who coordinates the evidence-planting operation and carries Danzo’s later message to the Land of Rain 246 247.

Notable Quotes

“Hiruzen, you'll regret this someday!” 8

“This time, let Root protect Konoha.” 92

“Root started as nothing more than an ANBU training program. I built it into what it is today by prying authority from his hands, bit by bit.” 228